How Long Did yer Build take?

bigevelyn

My God Madchef those prices are amazing! Maybe the long dreamed of holiday home in Keel isn't as far away as i thought it was. Better get my own house built first, i suppose!

squire1

I think you are in the wrong buisness themadchef. Property development maybe?

secman

plastering inside and outside €3k ?

This I find incredibley hard to believe. For a nap exterior finish on a typical 2400 sq ft house would be €4500 and the inside would be €7500. And they would be the reasonable ones. !!!!!


yours
secman

smashey

secman wrote:

plastering inside and outside €3k ?

This I find incredibley hard to believe. For a nap exterior finish on a typical 2400 sq ft house would be €4500 and the inside would be €7500. And they would be the reasonable ones. !!!!!


yours
secman

Secman, look at themadchef's location. Achill Island. I think it is possible to get it for that rate.:) The more West/rural the location, the cheaper things get. Add in a good haggler like themadchef and it's not impossible.

themadchef

yeah i know it sounds insane but checked with hubby 3k was the total!, we were lucky we had the site, god bless daddy. sites that cost a bomb. Keel is a rip of Evelyn, sites and houses wayyyyyyyy over priced, the developers totally destroyed a unique village ..and worse still most of them were locals!

i am the bargain hunting queen........(or just lucky)..last month i went into debenahams in galway and picked up 4 pairs of curtains for my living room. the price on the wrapping was 450 euro a pair (FAINT) i paid ......... three euro!!!! three euro a pair, the lady said every thing with a red sticker was dropped to three euro and the curtains as i pointed out had a red sticker, as did all the other stuff i bought, light fittings etc all rrp of over 100 euro most of em anyway. filled 2 cars with stuff cost about 90 euro in total for well over 5k of goods ..drove home to empty car and return for more lovely cheap stuff to find out it was all a pricing error ROFL what a buzz. some times you just get lucky!

sinnerboy

Cant believe low cost folks - well done . Can people state locations please . Typical costs around Dublin have risen ( for contractor tendered work ) to around €200/250 ft2 ( inc VAT ) "turn-key" i.e. incl fittings and decorations + ext works

michael2368

how are you finding the geothermal system. is it expensive to run and who did you get to install it. I am considering installing it into my new house build

alibride

Well we are finally moving in friday week after 13 months of building!! Lots to do with the outside but the house is finished inside. Its a 2200sq ft house. here are some idea of the costs!! Best of luck to ye all
plumber 3.8k
Plasterer 11k
1st fix 12k
2nd fix 5k (6 rooms with solid wood floor)
Kitchen 14k (incl granite)
Bathroom ware 9k
Electrican 6k
Wood pellet boiler (inl flu, manifold, 300ltr tank etc) 18k
cant remember other prices as it seems so long ago now!!

steeo

Build type : contractor
House Size:1500 sqft
Construction method :Cavity outside with a Timberframe structure
Planning process length:8 weeks
Start date: September 06
Finish (or expected) finish date: December 06
Months to complete: 10 weeks start to finish
Lessons Learned:Get good tradesmen that you can trust even if it costs that bit more
% over or under budget:10%
Price per ft2: €103 which included an attic conversion and extended kitchen, house fully networked with Cat 5, alarmed and a printed concrete driveway.

snellers

103 euro using a contractor and in 10 weeks? fantastic stuff!! was this a new build on a 'green site' or an extension to existing property? - or was it maybe the timberframe that enabled extra speed?
just wondering as I am preparing myself for 12 months of grief to get my property up regardless of what anyone is saying - I will be going the timber frame route also so interested to know more!

forgot to ask also where are you based?

steeo

Based in Dublin.

The timberframe was ordered 6 weeks in advance (i think) and they arrived at 6 one morning as i was going to work and when i got home at 1 o clock the ground floor was installed (internal and external walls) and the upstairs external walls had just gone in and by the end of day 2 the structure was water tight including the roof which had its felt laid.

Builder did his 1st fix of electrics and plumbing then another crew from the timber frame suppliers came in and insulated all the internal and external walls and the 2 ceilings (downstairs and upstairs) and the attic.
As soon as the builder was ready the same crew came back and 2 days later all the plaster board was fitted and the stairs then towards the end of the build they came back again and fitted all the skirting boards, doors and frames and surrounds. While the electrics and plumbing was going on inside the blocks were going up outside and the tiles were going on the roof.

The only real delay I had was the corpo with the water. I had a corpo engineer out and he marked the path where the mains water pipe was supposed to run

"all I need is a 2 foot square hole as the pipe is about 14 inches below the path"

Ye right the hole ended up been 8 foot long by 5 foot wide and over 4 foot deep before the builder found the pipe, all hand dug as there was electric cables, telephone lines, gas pipes and unidentified wires crossing throughout the area the engineer wanted dug.

eire1977

Steeo,
If you don't mind, I have a few more questions for you. Who did your timber frame and how much did it cost (with all the extras, them insulating it, fitting plaster board, doors, skirting, frames, etc)? If you had to start again (God forbid) would you go with the same company?

The reason I'm asking is that we hope to start our build sometime in march - so we will be ordering our timber frame soon.

steeo

http://www.riverviewframesystems.ie/

This is the company that did my frame and to be honest they were great. They left the place clean each night and arrived a 8 each morning.

As far as i can remember the frame including everything was €48k including the attic conversion. The insulating, door frames, plasterboarding etc was included in the price.

You can get the doors and skirtings in different styles and finishes at an extra cost or it comes in pine as standard.

eire1977

Thanks for that Steeo, I'll def get a quote from them.

Noviceman

Build type : Direct Labour
House Size: 2500 sq feet plus 2 story garage
Construction method :Cavity
Planning process length: 12 weeks
Start date: Mid March 07
Finish (or expected) finish date: Feb 29, 08, next Friday whoppeeee
Months to complete: 11.5 months
Lessons Learned: Many lessons: Always plan well ahead (2 months). Hardest thing to do is visualise each room in house and how it will be when it's finished, vital when placing sockets, rads, wardrobes etc.. almost impossible to get right. Don't always go for the cheapest tradesman, and don't be afraid to sack them when not going right, we got rid of 2 and don't let them tell you what to do just because it's easier for them oh, be slow to pay full monies ( i paid my plasterer too quick)
% over or under budget:10% over, my wife has expensive taste
Price per ft2: €120 includes everything finished and furnished (beds, sofas, tvs, wardrobes ...etc) including outside, patio, driveway - high spec finish throughout, natural slate roof, sash windows, solar panels, hrv, house networked, alarmed, all lighting inside and out, painted inside and out. I'm sure this could have been done cheaper reading previous posts with the build taking longer. I have 2 small kids and living in 2 bed appmt and wanted this done as quick as possible, also did none of the work myself, just project manage, mainly because of kids again, no time.

Finally, this board has been great when stuck in a jam.....

Noviceman

smashey wrote: »

Secman, look at themadchef's location. Achill Island. I think it is possible to get it for that rate.:) The more West/rural the location, the cheaper things get. Add in a good haggler like themadchef and it's not impossible.

i find that 3k for plastering impossible to believe aswell, i'm in Mayo also, not that rural but not far away, the plasterer would not have made any money at that price, possibly a loss

smashey

Noviceman wrote: »

be slow to pay full monies ( i paid my plasterer too quick)

You read some of my previous posts then.

Well done Noviceman and I hope it goes well for you.

muffler

You're quick outa the blocks this morning smashey. Beat me to it with deleting that post.

themadchef

Noviceman wrote: »

i find that 3k for plastering impossible to believe aswell, i'm in Mayo also, not that rural but not far away, the plasterer would not have made any money at that price, possibly a loss

The guy who plastered my house got three payments of 1k. Sure i got quotes of 8k and 6k, i also got quotes for my kitchen at over 10k, but i got that done for 2.5k, solid beech work top 18 pine cabinets and an island..no doubt you doubt that too :rolleyes:.

Everyone is entitled to believe what they like, but i have no reason to come on here and lie for gods sake.

Do you worry if they are making enough money? Do you think, well maybe the price is too good? or snap their hand off. I know the option i chose.

valz_walsh

Heya,

This is a great thread. Very helpfull.

Does anyone have anyidea how much a timber framed house in North Cork would cost. Looking to build a house, and Iv no idea where to start!! Anyone have any names of timberframe house builders in the Cork area? Also, does anyone have any information on solar panels? Thinking about getting them in as the house is being built.:o

foxfordbuild

Location: Mayo
Build type : Contractor & Timberframe \ Direct for Kitchens\Bathrooms\ Doors\Floors\computer&media cabling
House Size: 2000 sq feet plus 600 sq foot Attic
Construction method :Cavity \ Timberframe
Planning process length: 14 weeks
Start date: March 08
Expected finish date: September 08
Months to complete: 7ish hopefully
Lessons Learned: Planning ahead is key, keep a notebook for when you get an idea or a suggestion, check boards.ie often
% over or under budget: 20% over ( Attic conversion € 7500, Addittional foundation work € 6000
Price per ft2: €115 (will update with final figure) Excludes site, stamp duty\Legal fees\Engineers fees

ampjohnny

Hi lads,

Have eto say this a great resource for people who are the very very veryyy outset of their own self builds. many thanks to all who have posted so far.

I was wondering if someone could hazard a cost on my behalf, im currently seeking planning on a 3 bed detached house just outside Cork city centre - as a rough guide i was budgeting 160k for the house to finish it to a very good standard (kitchen, 3 bathrooms, all white goods, tiling carpets and possibly solar panels). House will be 1200 sq ft when finished.

This gives a me a cost per sq ft of €133

Outside of that i'll be roughly budgeting 20 k for a very very deep and expensive sewer required to achieve gravity flow and a road that had to be built to access the site (about 30 foot long) That is also to cover the garden and perhaps some hard landscaping - might just forget this part!

I was wondering if someone with more experience could hazard a guess at how far off/close i am - in truth i havent even researched it on anything more than a general level as the planning is still taking up all my bloody time

Cheers for any feedback

Poor Uncle Tom

Sounds ok for conventional build with strip founds.

Dont forget to include Professional Fees, Planning contribultions, water/sewer connection fees, Electricity and Phone connections, any other works to comply with the conditions of planning so you can get your certificate of compliance and your final stage release (if you are getting a mortgage.

ampjohnny

Poor Uncle Tom wrote: »

Sounds ok for conventional build with strip founds.

Dont forget to include Professional Fees, Planning contribultions, water/sewer connection fees, Electricity and Phone connections, any other works to comply with the conditions of planning so you can get your certificate of compliance and your final stage release (if you are getting a mortgage.

Hiya Tom,

Cheers for the fast reply, the connection charges etc that you mention are all to come out of the overall cost of 180k to be honest, do you think i'm being a little overly optimistic? I figured the housing slow down might benefit me in terms of cost, having said that i want everything about the property to be quality and dont wanna cut corners on the materials used

I've no idea what you mean by 'strip founds' though, can you explain?

Cheers
John

Poor Uncle Tom

Strip Founds = Normal reinforced concrete strip foundations in trenches, as opposed to full overall raft, or piled foundations which could swallow up a lot of a project budget.

Basically I was saying, without seeing your plans and detailed specification it is very hard for anyone to put a build and complete cost on your project, But if you keep all stages to a good clean standard finish using mid range materials and good workmanship and if you keep a tight rein on the project time you should come in on budget.

Little advice: Spend a couple of grand on getting the help of a good local architectural technician, who will easily save you €10-20,000 during the overall build. You will make a very worthwhile friend.

ampjohnny

Hiya Tom,

Thanks again for the feedback.

I honestly cant say if there will be any of the mentioned complications with the foundations but hopefully not - im a bit ignorant when it gets to those details im afraid.

What i think i'll do is load the final draft of plans onto a file site and link to here - would you mind giving a very quick look at em?

I know its hardly gonna be an exact costing but at least it helps give me a good idea

Cheers

Poor Uncle Tom

Not a problem, be glad to.

ampjohnny

Poor Uncle Tom wrote: »

Not a problem, be glad to.

Really appreciate that Tom - shouldnt be much longer than next week that i'll have the final draft - i'll load up the pdf and link to it.

I should point out that im considering a number of green options - considering being the word - such as solar, geothermal and wind (my site is rather elevated but realistically i'd install a wind meauring device for a year before committing to anything on this one).

As my architecht basicallt thinks green energy is hocus pocus and my understanding is that solar panels, geo thermal etc are exempt from planning permission guidlines in certain situations ie out of sight from public roads, these additions arent included on the planning application drafts. I will be researching these properly once i have the planning in the back pocket.

These will have to be factored in to the budget later, i've been approved for mortgage of 235k but hope to keep the fully completed and fitted out build cost at the 185/190k mark.

Cheers
John

keshmesh

Hi all, been reading many of the threads and struggling to get a rough quote for new build. Looking to buy site with planning for contemporary house in Laois. It's 2 story; 2700 sqf. Flat roof. It has a bit of a "Grand Design" look with lots of glas. We're thinking of using ICF. Thinking about green options like geothermal / solar, also UFH, HRV.
Architect believes cost are €185 / sqf (this includes groundwork, architect/Struc engineer/QS fees + Eircom/ESB fees), which scared us.
Other people think this is a lot and looking at posts here, the average is more like €135 / sqf.
When people quote cost by sqf, does this include groundworks and fees? (and VAT?)

Site is on slope; what is reasonable cost for site clearance + foundations? (€50k)

We got quote for Struc Engineer of €11k; is that reasonable?

It's extremely stressful to decide whether or not to buy the site with such big range of building cost estimates.

Thanks

sunnysoutheast

keshmesh - that's a good question and is almost impossible to answer with a "per square foot" estimate, this will very based on whether the site is serviced, etc. There are way more contractors around now due to the slowdown, but materials prices have gone up significantly. A sloping site adds cost, but you can ameliorate it by designing different floor levels. Features such as HRV, UFH, solar add to the capital cost but can have a reasonable payback period. The building regulations regarding insulation etc. are now much more strict.

My only advice is that, if you can afford the estimated price of over €2000 per sq.m., you are very well placed to build. If you can afford, say, €1500 per sq.m. then it's a marginal decision but you may get away with a lower standard of finish. If you cannot afford that then I would say to think about it carefully.

There will be many people on here who will have built for less and, if you can provide the free management time and labour, that may be possible for you too.

For info. we built a 450 sq.m. house in Waterford and, all-in excluding the site (fully serviced), we spent c. 750k. We have HRV, UFH downstairs, high insulation, marble floors, decent plumbing, oak skirting and doors everywhere, high-quality bathrooms and flashy sockets. Bear in mind we painted every inch of it ourselves, the garden was hard labour and I've done the CAT5e cabling and little electrical jobs myself.

SSE